Clutch of firms gets BB+ ratings

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today raised long-term foreign currency ratings of State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and six Indian corporates to BB+ from BB.

These rating actions follow S&P's upgrade of India's foreign currency sovereign rating to BB+ with a stable outlook from BB, based on improved external position on the back of reserves accumulation and prudent debt management.

The corporates which benefited from the sovereign rating upgrade included IOC, IRFC, NHPC, NTPC, Reliance Industries Ltd, Exim Bank and Tata Power Company Ltd